Perry Ellis Brands Are Stocking Shelves Across The Globe And George Feldenkreis Oversees It All Here In Miami

Perry Ellis International: 29 brands. Two thousand employees. Offices from Portland, OR, to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. An estimated $760 million-plus in revenues last year. And the buck stops here in Miami, where Cuba-born entrepreneur George Feldenkreis chooses to hang his hat.

Mr. Feldenkreis got his start peddling window glass in his early days in Miami, seeing more success later selling auto parts. He ventured into apparel with his brother in Puerto Rico, a business he expanded into the US that exploded in the ’80s after his son joined the company, then called Supreme International.

Since, Mr. Feldenkreis and his team have grown the company into the designer, distributor and licensor known now as Perry Ellis International after a $74.6 million acquisition in 1999.

The company has taken a hit in today’s rough economy but is staying ahead by following the trends and dropping underperforming businesses.

Mr. Feldenkreis says the company would be better off based in New York, a fashion hub and choice international business venue. But he’s a Cuban and Miamian through and through, he says, and values quality of life. "Not everything is money."

He talked business, fashion and family with Miami Today reporter Risa Polansky at Perry Ellis’ local headquarters. To read this profile article in its entirety, subscribe to Miami Today’s E-paper. With the E-paper you will be able to read the entire contents of Miami Today online exactly as it appears in print. Or order this issue, to receive a regular printed copy of this week’s Miami Today. You may also subscribe to the printed edition of Miami Today to receive the newspaper every week by mail.